New Research Reveals Customer Satisfaction Trends for Case Management and EMR Software Applications

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National study and Trend Report series published by TCS Healthcare Technologies, the Case Management Society of America, and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians focuses on the results of the 2012 Health IT Survey and assesses user satisfaction of case management (CM) and electronic medical record (EMR) software systems.

Data integration will continue to be top priority as we emphasize transitions of care.

Auburn, CA and Little Rock, AR (PRWEB)June 17, 2014

A new report unveils the opportunities and challenges faced by health care professionals using health information technology (health IT) applications, providing unique insight into the ways technology is transforming the industry. The research, sponsored by TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS) with other leading health care organizations, assesses user satisfaction of case management (CM) and electronic medical record (EMR) software systems.

Building on the eight previous Trend Reports, this final report analyzes such key issues as user satisfaction ratings, in-house versus vendor applications, adoption rates, and health IT trends. The researchers hypothesized that user-ability ratings are central to tracking the progress of health care professionals as they adapt their practices to more health IT-dependent practices.

The Health IT Survey, underwritten by TCS, the Case Management Society of America (CMSA), and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (ABQAURP), was conducted in 2008, 2010 and 2012 to identify primary trends in health IT systems as well as current and emerging software applications.

“While survey respondents appear to be generally satisfied with their health IT application systems, opportunities do exist to improve user satisfaction levels,” notes Rob Pock, founder and CEO of TCS Healthcare Technologies. “Satisfaction with care management systems has remained relatively constant since 2008, with just over half of respondents reporting they are at least somewhat satisfied.”

Pock further notes that EMR satisfaction has significantly increased over the past several years. “This trend report discusses some of the nuances between these and other findings and offers several important insights,” he says.

One of nine reports that analyze the research results, Trend Report #9: Satisfaction and the Adoption Curve, identifies several key trends:

The 2012 survey results show higher rates of satisfaction with respondents’ electronic medical record (EMR) systems as compared to CM software applications (73% of EMR system users were “somewhat satisfied” or higher compared to 60% of CM software application users).

The survey indicates the market split between “vendor,” “in-house” and “hybrid” solutions remain relatively proportional for both EMR and CM software systems, with no particular solution dominating the responses.

The trend report highlights some of the opportunities and challenges associated with big data and distributed computing.

The analysis identifies the 10 Top Health IT Trends (click here to access the report today to find out what they are!)

“We have seen enormous change since this survey series launched in 2008,” says Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, CMSA executive director. “Data integration will continue to be top priority as we emphasize transitions of care.”

With technology supporting the exchange of health care information changing rapidly, Lattimer believes “collaboration and interoperability will be vital to achieving success in technology growth and in efforts to create a seamless experience for the patient, providers and payors.”

This is the third time TCS, CMSA and ABQAURP have joined forces to sponsor the bi-annual survey, with the first survey conducted in 2008. By comparing data from all three surveys – 2012, 2010 and 2008 – the series of Trend Reports reveals several emerging patterns in health IT use and perception.

“Since the first survey in 2008, one common theme appears to be the slower than expected rate of adoption on many key health IT elements as described in this nine-part series,” says Garry Carneal, JD, MA, president & CEO of Schooner Strategies and research coordinator. “This latest report explores the significance of an ‘adoption curve’ in analyzing the pace of health IT adoption.”

Trend Report #1: Introduction & Methodology Overview provides a background on the survey methodology, participants and sampling technique. All of the published Trend Reports can be viewed or downloaded on a complementary basis at http://www.tcshealthcare.com in the Press section, or by visiting http://www.cmsa.org.

A compilation of this Trend Report Series will be available at the TCS Healthcare Technologies booth at the 24th Annual CMSA Conference and Expo (booth #231). Those interested in receiving copies of the reports can sign up in the Trend Reports section of http://www.tcshealthcare.com under the Press tab. The TCS website also contains other valuable resources and information, including links to the webinar series showcasing the results of the survey.

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About the Co-Sponsors

TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS) is a leading provider of software and clinical solutions that support and improve population health management strategies for health plans, insurers, providers, third-party administrators, medical management companies, and others. TCS is recognized as one of the premier health care software companies in the United States designing, offering, and hosting a number of products and services. The TCS Acuity Advanced Care® application provides a comprehensive and integrated care management software system for Utilization Management (UM), Case Management (CM), Disease Management (DM), and Prevention/Wellness (PW) services.

American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, Inc. (ABQAURP), is a non-profit education and certification board that has certified over 9,800 physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in Health Care Quality Management (HCQM) and Patient Safety. Established in 1977, ABQAURP is the nation's largest organization of interdisciplinary healthcare professionals. ABQAURP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) as a provider of Continuing Medical Education, and by the Florida Board of Nursing as a provider of Nursing Credit. For more information: (800) 998-6030; http://www.abqaurp.org.

Case Management Society of America (CMSA), established in 1990, is the leading non-profit association dedicated to the support and development of the profession of case management. CMSA serves more than 11,000 members, 20,000 subscribers, and 75 chapters through educational forums, networking opportunities, legislative advocacy and establishing standards to advance the profession. For more information: http://www.cmsa.org; Twitter @CMSANational.